The Rancher's Daughter
by multi-personas
Summary: Link has been missing for about six years, when Malon and her father, Talon, pick up a stranger who has seen Link, that all changes.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this story is about Link and Malon. It has some references from my sariaxlink story (named SariaxLink), so to get some of the "jokes", please read that one. Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 1

"Damn it's hot." Malon said as she rode in the back of the wagon, even with the tarp over the top it was still stifling. It too everything she had not to throw the milk out to back and lay on top of the ice the milk was sitting on to keep it cool.

"What was that sweet heart?" Malon's father Talon asked. He was the one driving to wagon over Hyrule Field. Malon didn't really look anything like Talon. Where Malon had long red hair, Talon had black balding hair. Where Malon was full of energy, Talon was "full of lazy" as their ranch hand Ingo would say. The only thing that they shared was they both had blue eyes. She must have gotten her long red hair and energy from her mother, but she never knew. Her mother had died when she was a child, and they didn't have any pictures of her.

"Nothing." Malon stretched out her legs and moved up to sit with her father. They were passing over the bridge to Kikariko Village, and they stopped out side of the stairs, because there was no way that they would be able to get the horses up the stairs. Instead of going into the Village they had the customers wait out by the stairs. "Anju!" Malon called out with a wave, in which the girl returned. When Talon stopped the cart, and made his way to the back. Malon however jumped down and ran up to Anju. Even though Anju was older, they were the same height.

"Hey Malon, my how have you grown. How old are you now 14? 15?" Anju asked.

"I'm 16 if you must know, I had my birthday last week." Malon replied proudly.

"Ha ha, I see. I remember my 16th birthday. Anyway I need some milk." Anju said with a smile.

"You'll have to talk to my father, I'm taking care of the horses today." Malon said as she walked off to the two identical brown horses that were tied up to the cart. She wasn't going to unhook them from the cart, but she did check underneath the harness's for any signs of a rash. When she did that she took out a brush and proceeded to brush there mane's. Her father had told her countless times that she didn't need to do that, because the wind would just mess it up again, but she couldn't help herself. This made the horses happy, and if it made them happy then she was happy. She did this until her father was done selling the milk, when he was finished they rode off again. They made there way in the direction of Lake Hylia where, again, they would have to stop outside of the place because of a metal fence in the way. Stopping outside of a populated area was very dangerous because of bandits, and robbers. They had a crossbow and a sword, but since neither of them had any experience with either, they were next to useless. She often wished Link would return, at least he was good with a sword, and he was one of her best friends. But he disappeared six years ago, and she hasn't heard anything from him since. She really only knew about Link from the time he was at the ranch, but he was a fun person to play with, and he told very good stories, which he claimed all happened but some she didn't believe. Along time ago she told herself that he wasn't coming back, but a very small part of her told her that he was. He probably wouldn't remember her if he did come back.

She was in the back of the cart, laying down when she felt the cart start to slow down. 'We can't possibly be there yet' she thought to herself. She moved to the front, and saw a man in a great big black trench coat, and an even bigger sword on his back, it must be at least bigger than her, he had long dirty blonde hair that was blowing in the slight breeze. 'How can he walk around with that coat on?' Malon asked herself, then it dawned on her: they were stopping for this man. Indeed they were, because they stopped alongside of him and her father called to him. She was expecting a very torn up face, with wrinkles as deep as crevices, and half blind eyes, but instead was a very smooth, beautiful baby blue eyes. The only thing that disrupted his face was a scar on his cheek, that started near his nose, and ended at his left ear.

"Where are you headed stranger?" Talon asked in a very cheery tone.

"Lake Hylia." The man replied, he had a very soft tone ton his voice.

"So are we, would you like a ride?" Talon asked. 'Dammit dad.' Malon thought to herself. Her father would pick up the God of Darkness himself if he asked.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble." The man replied with a little bow.

"Of coarse not!" Talon boomed. "Just jump in the back, and watch for the milk." The man did, he took off his sword and set it on the ground in front of himself, and sat on the floor. Malon had moved up front with her father.

"So whats our name stranger?" Talon asked, as they took off again.

"James." The man said as he brushed hair out of his eyes.

"And where are you from James?"

"Uh," James seemed stumped for a second, searching for the right answer. "I forget, I have been traveling around for most of my life." He said.

"Oh, have you meet any interesting people on you travels?"

"Yeah, I meet a lot of interesting people, probably the most interesting person was a boy named Link." He said as he took a drink from a canteen.

"What?!" Malon practically shouted, as she turned on the bench she was sharing with her father. Her sudden movement and yelling, made James fumble his canteen in his hand. When he finally had a hold onto it again, he was a little wet.

"What do you know him?" James asked shaking the water off one of his hands.

"Yes, he was a little boy who use to come to our ranch. Were did you meet him?" Talon asked.

"In a mining town, though he wasn't little, he looked about 13, he told the most interesting stories." James said as he drained the rest of his canteen.

"Have you seen anything of his since?" Malon asked.

"No, sorry. When I talked to him, he kept talking of a girl with long red hair named Malon, I assume your her?"

"Yeah, I am." Malon replied as she turned in back around in her seat. They rode in silence for the rest of the ride, James had fallen asleep about halfway to the Lake.

**I hope you like my story, please review and stay tuned till next time**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, there's not really much to say about this chapter, so please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 2

Malon woke up to her father shaking her awake. 'Shit!' Malon said in her head. How could she be so stupid, she fell asleep with a stranger in the back of the wagon, leaving her father completely unprotected. She quickly looked back, he was still asleep.

"We're almost there honey. Can you wake up James?" Talon asked. 'Yes, let me wake up a possible murderer.' Malon thought, instead she said "Yeah, sure." She climbed into the back and crouched down next to him. She wasn't sure how exactly she should wake him, so she decided on roughly shaking him awake. He was a little slow to wake up, opening one eye at a time, he slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"We're almost there." Malon said and she quickly took her seat back up front. The metal gate appeared before them and he father pulled the wagon along side the gate. They all jumped out, and James took out a pouch. Malon couldn't hear what they were saying, but the way her father shook his head with a smile, and waved James' hands away, she assumed that he was going to pay for the ride. The scientist, fisherman, and a few Zoras that live at Lake Hylia, came forward and they met with Talon, while she tended to the horses. As she was brushing their manes she saw James talk with a couple of Zoras. She couldn't hear what they were saying but from James' reaction of cursing loudly and kicking the metal gate with his foot, she could tell it was bad news.

They were about to leave again when James came up to them looking slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, I hate to intrude, but do you think I could get a ride up to Hyrule Castle Town?" James asked with an innocent half smile.

"Well, of coarse!" Talon boomed, James gave a thanks and climbed in the back again. As they were riding off again, James told them how his friend is sending him on a wild goose chase. About half way across Hyrule Field, the sun started to set.

"Hmm, hey James, I hope you like to camp, because it looks like we will be spending the night out here." Talon said as he look at the sky. 'Oh, goddesses no!' Malon thought to herself. Even if she protested, riding in the dark was very dangerous, even more dangerous than having a potential murderer sleeping next to you.

"Yeah I like to camp, I've spent countless nights outside." Jame said with a soft chuckle. They stopped by some dead trees, and made camp. James had gotten a good fire going and, after Talon asked, he was telling some of his stories. To Malon the stories are just as unbelievable as Link's, but her father was taking in the smallest detail.

"What about when you met Link?" Talon asked as he put another log on the fire.

"Ah, lets see if I remember, I met him three years ago at a mining town. He was lost and asked me for directions, when I told him I was an adventurer he started to ask questions. Well I bought him lunch and I told him of my adventures, and he told me of his. After trading stories we had a little duel. Well needless to say he won, and he gave me this." James said pointing to the scar on his face. He had a lost smile on his face as he stared into the fire. After a while he reached into his coat and pulled out a block of wood with wire string tied to it, but when he pulled on each end of it, it took the shape of a guitar.

"Do you mind if I play?" He asked.

"Not at all." Talon said as he laid on his back, he used a blanket as a pillow. James started to play a soft melody, it was pleasing. He played for a while till he abruptly stopped, he reached into he coat and came out with a glowing purple orb.

"Will you hold still?" He asked it.

"No!" The orb replied in a very high voice, when James released the orb it started to fly.

"Hey, that's a fairy!" Malon said surprised.

"Yeah, I met her on my travels too, saved her from an angry cat and she's been with me ever since." James explained as she sat down on his guitar. James continued to play well into the night, soon Malon felt sleep overcome her.

Malon woke up to a very ferocious roar. She sat up quickly and saw a mountain bear looming over Talon. Before she could react, she saw a blur of motion out of her left eye and before she knew it James was standing in front of the bear, his sword drawn. His sword had blood on it and before her mind could catch up the bear split in two down the middle. Talon was by Malon and he started to mutter gibberish, James slowly turned to face them, he put his sword back on his back.

"You may want to get the wagon ready, there will be scavengers here soon." James said with a very calm voice. Talon moved faster than Malon has ever seen her father move, and they were setting out in record time. Talon, in the front, was clearly impressed.

"Wow, I never seen anybody handle a sword a big as yours, with as much speed and power." Talon said excitedly.

"Yeah well, when it's one of the only thing you can trust in a fight, you tend to learn it's strengths and weaknesses." James said with a smile. Malon wasn't sure how she felt about the display, it made her feel both safer and scared to know that he could handle a sword that well. Sooner than later sleep came over her again, and when she woke up again she was back on her ranch. Talon was coming out of the barn when she woke up. A quick glance showed that Talon had put the horses up and unpack everything while she was asleep and that the sun was starting to set.

"Ah, hello sleepyhead." Talon said cheerfully.

Malon smiled and jumped down from the wagon and stretched, she felt satisfied when she heard a rhythmic pop along her spine.

"Hey is Epona out?" Malon asked quickly.

"Yeah, she should be out in the field." Talon said as he entered the old house that they lived in. Malon walked towards the corral where they let the horses and cows graze during the day. She quickly found Epona and when Malon stepped inside the corral Epona came trotting towards her. Malon started to pet her, but Epona shook her head. Taking this as she wanted her mane brushed, Malon took out he brush she kept in her pocked and tried to brush Epona's mane, but again Epona shook her head. She seemed very excited for some reason.

"What's with you girl? You only get this excited when Link's here." Malon said with a smile, her smile faded when she turned around and Link wasn't there. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' Malon said to herself.

**I hope you like my story so far, please review and stay tuned.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 3

Malon woke up to the sound of her father stumbling through the hallway to the bathroom. Malon is surprised, because when she looked out the window next to her bed she saw that sun isn't even up yet. Normally her father only gets up around eight o'clock. She slowly gets out of her bed, and starts to slip out of her night gown, Malon pulls out one of her work dresses and puts it. She then proceeds to brush her hair. When she's done with that, she heads out of her room and towards the bathroom. Once inside she pulls out her tooth brush, and brushes her teeth. She hears a knock on the bathroom door and she produces a very unintelligent gurgle, due to the toothpaste that was accompanying her mouth. She hears Ingo say he'll be down stairs, and she spits out the toothpaste. She heads out the bathroom, and down the stairs where she sees Ingo making eggs, she takes over for him when he heads up the stairs, she adds toast, and when she is finished setting the table for three both Talon and Ingo head down the stairs.

"So where are you going, dad?" Malon asked as she took a bite of toast.

"Ingo and I have to run into town, we have to get a few things, make some delivery's, and replace the help wanted sign." Talon replied, spreading butter on his toast. They had set out a help wanted sign a couple of months ago, so far nobody has showed up. "Ingo's going to come with me, so will you be able to run the ranch till we get back?" Talon asked.

"Of coarse." Malon said excitedly, she would have the whole ranch to herself, she is so going to tan on the roof.

"Alright, have you got the wagon ready, Ingo?"

"Yup, we should get going if we want to get there on time." Ingo said as he check his watch.

"Right! We will be back around five." Talon called as he walked out of the house, followed by Ingo. Malon quickly cleaned up, and when she heard the wagon pull away, she ran back upstairs. She got her working gloves and headed outside. She decided to get a start on her chores, she couldn't do Ingo's or her fathers chores, because they included heavy lifting, but she did do her chores, which included: taking care of the horses, milking the cows, feeding the cuccos, and collecting the eggs. She worked very hard and she finished sooner that she expected. It was around noon so she made herself a quick lunch and was enjoying it outside when the worst thing she could think of strolled through the gates of the ranch entrance.

"What a lovely name for a ranch." James called with a wave.

"Ah, well I'm sorry but we're closed right now, please come back later when my father is here." Malon said with a practiced bow.

"Hey, I'm just here to pay for the ride you gave me last week." Her said as he took out a brown pouch and tossed it to Malon, but he didn't leave. Malon didn't look in the pouch but she did become uneasy when he started to look around, James, turned to her. "Don't worry I'm not a murderer." He said with a smile and a wink. "Anyway, I should be off. Oh! I found some stuff out, I think you'll be pretty happy with what I have done. Anyway good luck!" James called as he walked back down the path that led to Hyrule Field. Confused at what James said, she opened the pouch, uncertain in what she will find, and found that it had five silver rupees. She nearly dropped the pouch with surprise. She quickly disappeared into the house and put the pouch on the counter. She stared at it thinking what she would do next. She decided on going outside and go to the corral and be with the horses.

Brushing Epona's mane was like trying to brush your hair in a tornado, it just couldn't be done. Ultimately giving up she decided to sing, thinking that it would calm down Epona, who has been on edge all week. She sang for a while, and Epona was calmed down quite a bit, when Malon stopped singing she heard clapping. Thinking it was James again she refused to look behind her where the clapping was coming from.

"You still have a very beautiful voice, Malon." Said a soft voice. This voice was clearly not James'. Her breath caught when she turned around and she saw a tall man, wearing brown boots covered mostly by baggy tan pants legs, he was wearing a green tunic, and a green hat sat on top of his forever messy blonde hair.

"Link." She breathed, she then ran towards him and jumped into his outstretched arms, making them both crash to the ground.

The hug lasted for what seemed like forever, it broke off when Link said that they needed to get up sometime.

"Where have you been?" Malon asked, back on her feet.

"I have been all over." Link said as he stood up, he stretched and felt his back pop a few times. Do to habit, Malon stretched too and she felt the rhythmic pop along her spine, this made Link laugh.

"Still have that habit, eh?" He asked with a laugh.

"I think I know what James said when he said that I would like what he did." Malon said softly.

"James?" Link asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, we gave him a ride last week. He said that he knew you, he had a black trench coat, giant sword, long dirty blonde hair, and a purple fairy." Malon replied. "Whats wrong?" Malon asked when she saw that Link's face suddenly went from happy to angry.

"James. He is a murderer." Link replied. This shocked Malon.

"What?" She asked with her mouth hanging open.

**I hope that you like my story so far, please review and stay tuned till next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 4

"So what exactly did he do?" Malon asked when they had gone inside, they were sitting on the old tattered couch that sat in the living room.

"Well, when I met him he seemed like a cool guy, we started to talked and he bought me lunch. While I was eating these two guys came inside the shop, and James walked up to them and killed them. They didn't even know what hit them before it was too late." Link said as he ran a hand over his face. They were quiet for a while till Malon broke the silence.

"So what did you do on your adventure?" She asked trying to change the subject. This seemed to put a smile on Links face, he was quickly lost in his story as he retold her all about his six years. He had been trying to find his lost fairy, but to no prevail. He told her about how he fought dangerous monsters, and saved a whole city from certain demise.

"Well, after a while I thought I should come home, so I did." Link said as he stretched out his legs.

"Well it good to have you back, for a while I thought that you had forgotten all about Hyrule." Malon said with a slight smile.

"Forget about Hyrule? Nah, too many people I care about here. Oh, hey are you still hiring?" Link asked. Malon replied by cocking her head to one side, with a confused look on her face. "You did put this up didn't you?" Link asked when he dug out a torn and wrinkled flier, she recognized it at once as the old worker wanted flier they put up a month ago. "I found it in my bag when I was eating breakfast." Link explained.

"Yeah, you know my dad and Ingo went to town to put up another one." She said with a small laugh.

"Really? So does that mean the positions open?" Link asked.

"Yup, you just need to pass a stamina test, it shouldn't be too hard for you." Malon said.

"Lets start." Link said with a smile. Malon went to a cabinet and inside she pulled out two sheets of paper, one was what needed to be fixed, and the other was a simple task sheet that was the "test" that people who wanted the job, had to complete. As she was about to put the list of things that need to be fixed, she had a sudden thought. She put the "test" sheet back and closed the cabinet, she led Link outside, and to where they kept the stuff for repairs.

"Here is your list, complete this list and the job is yours." She says as she hands him the sheet. Link looked at it and slowly his eyebrows began to rise. "I didn't make the list. Come get me if you are stuck with something, or if your done." Malon said as she walked out. She changed into shorts, and a sleeveless tunic, and took the reclining chair out of the barn and she relaxed, glad she could do this.

Link started on fixing some broken boards in the fence for the corral, after that he began working on the roof of the barn that got damaged in the last storm, when Link was half way done with the barn Malon made some lemonade, and brought it to him.

"Would you like a drink?" Malon asked with a laugh when she saw Link. He took off his tunic, and Malon could see the muscles that had developed over time.

"Yeah, sure thanks." Link said as he took the glass from Malon, he drank it all and handed the glass back to Malon.

Link was done with the barn, and was about to start on fixing the house roof, that had gotten damaged in the same storm as the barn, when Malon stopped him.

"You will work yourself to death if you don't take a break." Malon said as Link was setting up the ladder against the house.

"I could do with a break." Link said, they went back into the house, where Malon made Link a late lunch, she glanced at the clock on the wall and her father would be back in a few hours.

"I'm going to start dinner, would you like anything specific?" Malon asked as she disappeared underneath the island cabinets, pulling pots and pans.

"Nah, I'm not a picky eater." Link said as he pulled on his tunic. Malon started to fill a pot with water that she would use for soup.

"Need any help?" Link asked as he walked up next to Malon.

"No, now get out of my kitchen." Malon said with a smile as she bumped Link out of the way with her hip. Link just laughed and said he would work on the roof. Malon took a piece of string and tied her hair up with it, she proceeded to chop herbs and vegetables. Malon made some pumpkin soup, and left it on the counter to cool, she glanced at the clock and her father should be here any moment. She stepped out side to see if Link was done yet.

"Almost!" He called from up on the roof. To her left, Malon could hear a wagon pulling up the path, when she looked she saw her father and Ingo on the wagon, talking about something she couldn't hear, they stopped in front of Malon and they both hopped down.

"Ah, how was your day sweetheart?" Talon asked sweeping Malon I a hug.

"It was very good father, I found a man who wants a job, I gave him the list and he passed. He would be very good for the job." Malon said once her father released her.

"Really? Well where is this fine man?" Talon asked looking around.

"Hello, Mr. Talon!" Link called from the roof. Talon looked very surprised for a moment, but recovered quickly.

"Well come on down here boy!" Talon called in a very merry voice. Link climbed down the ladder, and was instantly swept into a hug that nearly crushed Link.

"What are you doing on the roof, my boy?" Talon asked cheerfully.

"Doing the task needed to get this job, Malon gave me this." Link said handing the sheet of paper to Talon. He looked it over once and started to bust out laughing.

"Son, this is a list of repairs that needed to be done, the test was a lot simpler." Talon said with a hearty laugh, as he clapped Link on his back. Link just gave a look to Malon that said 'You have got to be kidding me.' Malon just ignored it and strolled inside. "Soups ready guys!" Malon called over her shoulder.

**I hope you like my story so far, please review and stay tuned.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, so I changed the rating from M to T because somebody pointed something out, well I was planning on the story to take a different turn, but that didn't happen. Please review and enjoy and I'm sorry if the rating confuses some people.**

Chapter 5

"This is pretty good soup." Link said as he spooned some more soup into bowl, Malon had thought that with Link appetite, she should make extra and she was right, Link almost finished the whole pot by himself.

"Well I'm glad you like it." Malon said with a laugh.

"Work up an appetite, eh?" Talon asked with a laugh, clapping Link on his back.

"Yeah, that and I haven't had anything this good in months." Link said as he spooned more into his mouth.

"Living off potatoes and onions, eh?" Ingo asked with a smile.

"Oh yeah, it gets really boring after you have had potato and onion soup, every night for a year. I swear I invented about a million dishes, just with potatoes and onions." Link replied with a laugh. He finished with his bowl and, finally full, washed it.

"Right! Sorry Link but the room that is yours is full of crap, you can either have the couch, or sleep in the barn. It's up to you." Talon said as he stood.

"The couch looks pretty comfortable, I think I'll take that." Link said as he stretched.

"I'll get blankets." Malon said as she stood, and disappeared upstairs. She returned with a couple blankets and a pillow. Both Talon and Ingo said good night and disappeared upstairs, Malon spread the bottom blanket on the couch, and Link put down the top blanket and pillow, but something made him stop.

"Is this your pillow?" Link asked.

"Yeah, it was the only spare I could find, how did you know?" Malon asked.

"Well, there's not too many people with long red hair in this house." Link said as he picked a single hair off the pillow. Malon felt a little embarrassed.

"Sorry." Malon said.

"No, it's fine. Thanks." Link said with a laugh, discarding the hair.

"Well, get some rest. You need to get up early." Malon said as she started for the stairs.

"Yeah, good night." Link said.

"Good night." Malon said and she started to climb the stairs. Link crawled into his makeshift bed, the most comfortable think he's slept on for a while, he fell asleep almost instantly.

Malon woke up with the sun shinning in her eyes, she slowly got up. She stood in front of her full length mirror, and proceed to brush her hair. She dressed in her normal work dress, and headed for the bathroom. The door was closed so she knocked on it. Link opened it and was pulling on a blue tunic.

"All yours." Link said as he walked past Malon. Malon brushed her teeth and headed into her fathers room where he was still asleep as usual.

"Come on father! Time to get up!" Malon said loudly, Talon just turned over and kept on snoring. Malon walked up to Talons bed and viciously shook Talon while yelling at him to wake up. She was out of breath when she was done and Talon tiredly got up. "See you in ten minutes." Malon said as she walked out of the room and down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she saw that Link was at the stove, and Ingo was at the table with a cup of coffee.

"Oh, hello. I made eggs." Link said as she sat down at the table. Link put a plate of eggs in front of her, they looked very delicious. Malon said thanks and took a bite of the eggs, they almost melted in her mouth, Link was leaning up against the counter, eating his own eggs, and smiled at her expression.

"They good?" Link asked.

"Yup." Malon said as she took another bite. Talon came down the stairs, and when he sat next to Ingo Link put a plate of eggs in front of him.

"Ah, do we have a new chef in the house?" Talon asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I have had to cook my own meals so I made sure I liked them. It also helps to have a good recipes to follow." Link said with a smile as he indicated to a book on the table that had the title "Cook book for adventurers: How to make easy delicious meals with almost nothing." The book looked almost new, but when Malon opened it it said it was dated back five years.

After breakfast they all went to do there chores. Link went with Malon to the barn to help bring the horses to the corral. Epona was very exited to see Link again.

"Calm down girl. I need to get you out of your stable." Link said with a smile, he led Epona to the corral and promised he would come back, after his chores. Link shoveled manure while Malon milked the cows. He replaced the hay, and threw out the old and collected the eggs before Malon was finished. She was coming out of the barn as Link was about to enter the house, a basket full of eggs in one hand, and his other hand was bleeding a little. This made Malon giggle, she could remember when the cuccos pecked her hand whenever she collected their eggs.

"Damn cuccos." Link said furiously.

"Oh, come on. They use to peck me too, but they grew use to me. I'm sure they will grow use to you too." Malon said as she opened the door for him.

"I doubt it, all cuccos hate me. Its a fact!" Link said as he set the basket on the table and ran water over his hand, the little wounds were already healing.

"Well, you did torment them when you were a child." Malon said as she put the eggs in the ice box.

"Yeah, so whats next?" Link said as he dried his hand.

"That concluded my chores, my father probably is finished with his, and Ingo is in town, so nothing." Malon said letting out a breath.

"So what do we do now?" Link asked.

"Lets go to the corral." Malon said as she headed out.

**I hope that you like my story so far. Please review and stay tuned.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter, please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 6

Link was brushing Epona's mane, talking quietly to her, while Malon was sitting on the ground next to them.

"She certainly has missed you." Malon said with a smile.

"Yeah, I certainly missed her too." Link said as he finished running the brush through her mane. He sat down next to Malon. "I have also missed you." Link said turning his head to face Malon. Malon blushed and looked away, Link put one hand on her cheek and slowly turned her face towards him. Link leaned in close and before Malon knew what was happening there lips touched. The kiss quickly grew more passionate, Link kissed her and she kissed him back. The dream ended there.

Malon woke up slightly out of breath, she sat up quickly clutching her chest. 'Did I really just have that dream?' Malon asked herself. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and swung her legs off the side of the bed, she looked out the window only to notice the sun isn't up yet. She slowly crept down the hall, and down the stairs, careful to step over the one that creaks, and into the kitchen where she got herself a glass of water. When she was done, she quietly crept towards the stairs, but something caught her eye. Link was again sleeping on the couch, the blanket must have fallen off him while he slept, so Malon quietly crept towards him, picked up the blanket from the floor, and draped it back over him. Link turned in his sleep so that his face was facing towards Malon, she couldn't help but look at his lips and be reminded about the dream she just had. 'I wonder...' Malon thought to herself, but she quickly abandoned any and all thoughts that were related to her dream. She quickly, but quietly, went back to her room, she tried to go back to sleep but the dream haunted her. She couldn't distinguish if she liked Link like that. Sleep finally took over her and she was accompanied by one of her more normal dreams.

Malon stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair as she made her way downstairs. It was about three o'clock, they all just finished there chores for today, and Malon was lucky enough to be the first one in the bath. She stepped out in the warm evening, the grass tickled her bare feet as she walked towards the big tree that sat in font of the house. She draped the towel over her shoulders and sat down, leaning against the trunk of the tree. She dozed off for a while she woke up when Link plopped down next to her. She opened her eyes and say that Link's hair was still dripping wet, darkening the fabric of his shirt where his hair touched it. She took her towel off her shoulders and tossed it on Link's head, landing perfectly.

"Your hair will get frizzy if you don't dry it properly." Malon said with a small smile.

"Only girls worry about that." Link said as he took the towel off his head and tossed it back at Malon. With a sigh, Malon scooted behind Link, who was currently fixated on his boot, and tossed the towel back over his head.

"What the-" Link started but he was cut short because Malon began to violently dry his hair. When she was done and took of the towel she went into a fit of giggles.

"What are you laughing about?" Link asked, he felt his hair with one hand. His hair was sticking up in every direction but the right one, and Link began to flatten it, but to no prevail.

"Oh, come on. At least you won't get frizzy hair now." Malon said, trying to suppress her giggles. Link stood up and disappeared around the corner of the house, Malon heard the house door open, then close. Then open and close again, a minute later. Link appeared around the corner of the house, with a bucket. It took a minute for Malon's brain to compute, but by the time it did, it was too late. Link flung the contents of the bucket at Malon, with a big grin on his face. Malon, now soaking wet with water, just stood there shocked by what just happened.

"You make me dry, I make you wet." Link said with a grin on his face.

"Oh, you are dead." Malon said as she started to chase Link, who had began to run. He was fast, but she finally caught up to him, at the south side of the Ranch, she jumped on Link, taking them both down. Malon ended up sitting on top of Link's chest.

"Maybe next time, you won't get me wet after I try to dry you." Malon said, sticking out her tongue, Link just rolled his eyes. He place one hand on Malon's back and the other under her knees, and lifted her a couple of feet in the air, and placed her next to him.

"Show off." Malon said as she rested her head on Link's arm. They stared up at the darkening sky, counting the stars as they appeared.

"Oh, your father told me to tell you, that you and I will be delivering milk tomorrow and to get our rest." Link said.

"Alright." Malon said. Before too long she began to hear a soft snore come from Link. She sat up and woke Link, telling him it was time for bed. She had to help Link get to the couch, where he fell upon and instantly went back to sleep. Talon and Ingo had already gone to bed, so the only sounds she could hear were the crickets outside and the soft snore coming from Link. She draped his blanket over Link and kissed his cheek whispering, "Good night." She hauled herself up the stairs and into her room, where changed out of the still semi-damp cloths, and into her night gown. She flopped down on her bed and fell asleep almost instantly. The last thought in her conscious minds was that they both will have too have a big breakfast, because they both forgot dinner.

**I hope you like my story so far, please review and stay tuned till next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, first things first, I'm sorry for the delay. I have a major case of writers block. Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 7

"Are you alright Link?" Malon called through the bathroom door. "I said I was sorry." She said when there wasn't an answer. "Come on Link, it was an accident."

"Yeah some accident, you nearly took off my thumb." Link called through the door. "I'm almost done, I'm on the last stitch." He said. Malon shivered, she didn't like wounds, but she couldn't stand somebody sewing themselves up. She didn't understand but something about pushing a needle through your skin, then coming out the other side made her nearly faint. The door opened and Link came out with his right hand wound up in cloth, his thumb was covered but the rest of his fingers weren't.

"I'm really sorry." Malon said quickly as Link brushed past her. He was quiet for a second then he seemed to relax.

"Don't worry about it, it just means I can't do as much work as I have been doing till it heals." He said with a smile. Malon didn't understand why, but Link seemed to always brush every bad thing aside once he has dealt with it, like it wasn't a big deal, like the cut at the base of his thumb. Back downstairs Malon took the knife that she had cut Link with and started to clean it in the sink, she watched as the blood turned the water a light pink color. She then took the mint leaves that she was cutting at the time, and threw them away, because of the blood that now was on the green leaves. When she was done she turned and Link was pulling on his boots. She grabbed her sun hat, and headed outside. It was still dark outside, but she will be the one driving the wagon, and she preferred if she didn't get a bad sunburn on her face.

"Alright, you know where to go, you know how much to collect. You will have one more stop, you haven't been there before, but Link says he has so you'll be safe. Are you sure your able to do this?" Talon asked, when he spotted Malon.

"Yes, father. Link will protect me if I get into any trouble." Malon said as she climbed onto the front of the wagon. Link came out the door, with sword and shield over one shoulder and bow and quiver over the other. He hopped in back, and set his weapons down. He climbed up front next to Malon and sat down. With a quick goodbye to her father and Ingo, they both set off. Out on Hyrule Field they made there way to the Gerudo Desert. They sat in silence for a while till Link let out a loud sigh.

"Wanna play I Spy?" Link said as he looked at Malon.

"What?" Malon asked with a small laugh and smile.

"You know 'I spy with my little eye'." Link replied with a gesture that said 'You know'.

"I know what I Spy is. But isn't that game for little kids?" Malon asked keeping her eyes on the dirt road they turned onto.

"Well, yeah but it beats not doing anything." Link replied, looking around.

"True, ok I spy with my little eye something red." Malon said as she looked around the field.

"Flower." Link said instantly.

"How did you know that so fast?" Malon asked looking at Link with one eyebrow raised.

"I've spent the past six years on the fields of the world, I know whats out there." Link said looking around.

"Well, then that's cheating." Malon said pointedly.

"I guess." Link said. "What do you usually do when your making a delivery?" he asked.

"Nap, look at the sky, that sort of thing." Malon said. "What about you, what do you do when you travel?"

"Watch out for monsters, look for a good campsite, look for places to rest, look for towns, that sort of thing." Link replied as he sat back on the seat. Before too long Malon heard the sound of Link's soft snoring. Malon sat back on the seat. She was also getting a little sleepy, but she couldn't fall asleep. She started to think about how long this trip would take. She thought of how much money they made this month. She thought of the carnival that was coming to town I a few weeks.

Malon lost track of time, deep in thought, and before she knew it they were on the dirt road that would lead them up to the valley. She shook leaned over to wake Link up.

"Yeah?" Link asked a little slurred. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"We're almost there, since the Gerudos hate men, your going to have to wait out by the cart." Malon said as they stopped in front of the little wooden plank that was used a bridge. Malon got out and took two cases of milk from the back and started to walk over "bridge". Link watched Malon disappear as she turned the corner, he started to walk around the wagon, but he grew bored of that easily. With a sigh he fell onto the ground, he picked up a blade of grass and started to rip it up. Link leaned back, basking in the morning sun, he suddenly got an idea. He quickly got up, he went up to the wagon, he looked up at the roof. The planks keeping the tarp up were about the width of his body. 'This will work.' he thought to himself. He jumped up and caught a hold of the edge of the plank that was the most towards the end, and hauled himself up and onto it. He selected a spot in the middle, took off his shirt and began to lay and soak up the sun. he was asleep before to long.

**I hope you like my story so far, please review and stay tuned.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 8

"Link?" Malon called when she returned and couldn't find him.

"Yeah?" Link asked from atop the wagon.

"What are you doing up there?" Malon asked as she stood on the bench, looking over the top at Link.

"Just relaxing, soaking up the sun." Link replied.

"Well I'm done, so we have to go." Malon said as she stepped down and sat on the bench, Link dropped next to her.

"So is this the usual route you take?" Link asked when they were back on the main field, they turned to go to Lake Hylia.

"We change between two different ones each time we go. It makes it hard for bandits and such to hijack us." Malon replied.

"Right." Link said as he put his shirt back on. They rode in silence for a while till Link got bored. He reached into his small bag he brought and pulled out his ocarina. He played a few notes, to get warmed up, then started to play through the songs he collected over time.

"That was pretty good. What song was that?" Malon asked when Link had finished a slow soft song.

"Well it doesn't exactly have a name, I've been working on for the past five years." Link replied as he turned his ocarina over in his hands, thinking about when he got this ocarina.

"Five years? That's a long time." Malon said.

"Yeah well, it needs somebody with a very beautiful voice to sing with it. That's why it isn't finished." Link said as he started up another song.

It was almost dark when they arrived to the spot where they meet up with the people who bought milk. They quickly passed out the milk and collected the money and in no time they were on the road again.

"The sun's setting, we're going to have to set up camp soon." Malon said to Link who was in the back, counting the remaining milk.

"Where are we camping?" Link asked as he climbed besides Malon.

"Aren't you the field master?" Malon asked mockingly.

"Field master? No, that title is reserved to people who care to have a title. I'm more of an adventure master anyway." Link replied looking around, he pointed to a group of trees close by. "That place is perfect."

Malon quickly pulled in between the trees and Link jumped down. He got there sleeping packs and set them on the ground. He then went looking for fire wood.

They had there camp set up just as the sun was setting, Malon sat next to Link who had his sword resting against his lap. They were sharing a rabbit that Link caught, who made a kabob out of it, Malon bit off a piece and handed it to Link who ripped off a piece of meat that was about to fall off and placed it in his mouth, passing kabob to Malon.

"So do you usually do this?" Malon asked, passing the kabob to Link.

"Camping?" Link asked, passing the kabob to Malon.

"Sharing food like this." Malon replied, passing the kabob to Link.

"Oh, no. You don't really run into too many people who want to go adventuring with a kid." Link said as he passed the kabob to Malon.

"I would if I found you out in the big bad world all by your lonesome." Malon said with a smile as she tossed the now picked clean kabob in the fire.

"Ah, but I wouldn't let you." Link said as he sucked off the grease on his fingers.

"Why not?" Malon asked as she sucked the grease off her fingers.

"I would never danger anybody I cared about, that and your a year younger then me, your too young." Link said as he looked around behind them.

"Oh, so you care about me?" Malon asked in a playful tone.

"Well yeah, sure I haven't been around for a while but I have been worrying about you and the ranch." Link said as he started to chew on his finger nails.

"Ah, you shouldn't chew on your nails like that." Malon said looking at him with a cocked head. Link stopped and looked over at Malon. He cocked his head to mimic Malon, making Malon laugh. Link smiled and stared into the fire deeply.

"You know truth be told, I haven't had anybody join me in a trip like this ever since I went into this parallel universe." Link said absentmindedly.

"Parallel universe?" Malon asked with a laugh. "Am I in it?"

"Yes, twice. As a child and an adult." Link said looking at Malon. "The child version was named Romani, and the adult version was named Cremia. Romani was named after the ranch, though the gate that you entered through had 'Kikariko Village Cemetery' written on it. Weird."

"You have a very active imagination." Malon said with a laugh.

"You think I'm making this up?" Link asked with a laugh. "I will show you if I ever find the portal again."

"Yeah ok. Well I'm going to bed." Malon said as she slipped inside her sleeping bag. Link stayed up for a while watching the fire, but he too fell asleep.

Link was awake long before Malon and the sun, so he prepared packed everything. The only thing still out was Malon and her sleeping bag. He was about to wake her when he heard a growling from behind him. He quickly spun around with his sword drawn and he was facing a Wolfos. He looked to his left and there were two more. Same with his right. They slowly started to advance, Link didn't have his shield so he tilted his sword so he could use it as a shield if needed. Without warning a Wolfos that had gotten near him jumped at him without him knowing, Link turned in time to drop to the ground, but the Wolfos was still coming for him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a black blur slice through the Wolfos, dropping it. In the ground was a very long black sword that was at least the length of Link, blood gleamed on it's blade. The ground in front of Link started to blacken, black smoke started to rise.

"No, not you." Link said quietly. Before him stood James with his back turned to him. He retrieved his sword from the ground, and rested it on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at Link. Link suddenly felt cold and steam escaped his lips. James just smiled and turned back to the mod of Wolfos. The Wolfos suddenly all charged.

"Freeze." James said opening his eyes, all of the Wolfos suddenly were encased in ice, a Wolfos that was inched from biting James, exploded in a shower of ice, when James swatted at it. He turned just in time to be greeted by Link's sword coming for his head. He put up his left hand, blocking the strike, and caught a hold of Link by the throat, with his left, lifting him in the air.

"You are one of the Links I don't like." James said, slowly chocking Link. There was the sound of an arrow flying through the air, next thing anybody knew there was an arrow going through James' arm, but James didn't seem to notice. Then a purple fairy flew out of James' coat and flew up to Link.

"DROP HIM JAMES!" She screamed, James didn't hesitate and he dropped Link who crumpled to the ground. He started to walk away, he pulled the arrow out of his arm and threw it to the ground. The black smoke appeared again but before James went through it he turned his head to look at Link and Malon.

"You two make a cute couple." James said, he then walked through the smoke. Leaving Link and Malon alone in a forest of frozen Wolfos.

**I hope you like my story so far, please review and stay tuned. (P.S. The Kakariko village cemetery gate thing is an actual Easter egg in Majora's Mask. Look it up.)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, I'm sorry I have been lacking in chapters, I might be releasing a chapter every other day, but it isn't set in stone. Sorry for this chapter being as short as it is. Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 9

Back on track, Link is still fuming, Malon doesn't dare talk. Link wasn't ever a violent person, but he did seem pretty scary. He had said that he didn't want stop the delivery when Malon suggested that they go back to the ranch and have her father and Ingo finish the route. Link lets out a loud sigh and when Malon looks over she sees his visibly relax his shoulders. He runs a hand over his face and through his hair.

"I'm sorry Malon." Link said.

"For what you didn't do anything wrong." Malon said trying to ease Link.

"Yeah, but if I paid attention I would have noticed the Wolfos long before they arrived." Link said, his voice heavy with sadness. Malon put a hand on his arm.

"It's ok, I don't think he would have hurt you or me. That fairy seems to have control over him." She said.

"Yeah." Link said as he slouched down, closing his eyes. Malon hears a soft snoring come from him and the rest of the trip is done in silence. Malon doesn't bother to wake Link at the next and final stop, seeming it better to let him sleep, but he wakes up on his own when they arrive back at the ranch.

"What about the rest of the stops?" He asks when he wakes up and sees that they are back at the ranch.

"All done. I let you sleep." Malon said as she hops down.

"Ah, welcome back!" Talon said as he ruffled Malon's hair as she past him and disappeared into the house. Link helps Talon and Ingo unpack the wagon and lead the horses to the corral. Malon returns and her hair is wet and she has different cloths on. There are no chores to do today so Malon and Link go to the corral, Link playing his ocarina.

"Why don't you sing?" Link suggests when he is done playing a song.

"What song do you want me to sing?" She asks from the ground.

"You choose." Link says as he lays next to Malon, a piece of wheat sticking out of his mouth. Malon starts to sing a song from her past. Time slips away and it Link and Malon are called for dinner.

"Remember the time when you kicked the cuccos and they attacked you?" Malon asked Link with a laugh. After dinner Malon ad Link went back outside and were laying on the roof of the barn, enjoying the warm summer night.

"Yes, I still have the scars. And it was an accident, I didn't kick the cucco on purpose." Link said as he stared up at the night sky. "Remember the time we were left alone and you crawled up on this roof, and couldn't get down?" He asked with a laugh.

"Yes, you helped me down and I had to explain how I ripped my good dress to my father." Malon said looking up at the sky, her head resting on Link's shoulder. "What about that time we played tag while it was raining?"

"Yeah I remember that. I lost my front tooth, and talked funny for a week. I couldn't talk without somebody laughing at me." Link said as he absent mindlessly ran his tongue over his right front tooth. Malon looked at Link who was looking up at the sky still. She wondered how he would taste, and turned bright red when Link caught her looking at him.

"Lets see, what else embarrassing thing did you do here on the farm?" Malon asks quickly trying to cover up her red face.

"How about this?" Link asked, Malon turned her head to ask what for and her lips met his. He didn't break and neither did Malon. The kiss lasted for a few seconds longer till Link pulled back. His face was very red.

"Sorry I just wanted to do that since we were kids." He said. Malon leaned in closer and kissed him again, Link returned the kiss and they didn't part for a few seconds again, Malon the one to break apart this one.

"Me too." Malon said and she rested her head on Link's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. They stayed like that for a few minutes but it seemed like forever to Link and Malon.

"You do know that we can't let my father or Ingo know about us right?" Malon asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, but maybe we can do this every night, when your father and Ingo go to bed." Link said, his mind already thinking about all of the ways they could keep there relationship secret.

"That would be nice." Malon said with a smile on her face, snuggling closer to Link. "You know, my father and Ingo are suppose to leave tomorrow, early in the morning, and around dinner time." Malon said looking up at Link, her face a light shade of red thinking about what they could get away with while Talon and Ingo were gone. Link replied Malon by giving her a long kiss. They eventually broke apart and they had to go back inside. Talon and Ingo cleared out the spare bedroom while Link and Malon were selling the milk, so after a quick kiss from Malon he headed in there. He quickly changed out of his cloths and crawled under the covers, only in his boxers. He fell asleep thinking about Malon and how she felt.

**Please review and stay tuned till next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm sorry for those of you who were waiting patiently fro ch 10, im actually writing two other FanFics (not on this site. PM me if you want to know which site and the title ( not that you would but still)) and I've been having some bad cases of writers block but I know you don't want to hear excuses. Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 10

"Ok, here is a list of all that needs to be fixed. If you can't handle it you can wait till we get back." Ingo told Link.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can handle it." He said as Ingo sat next to Talon on the bench. Link and Malon watched as the wagon rolled out of site.

"So, would you like breakfast?" Malon asked.

"Yeah sure." Lin replied as he looked over the list. Not anything out of the ordinary. Back inside the house Link went to change out of his pajamas and into work cloths. A plate of eggs and toast await him when he gets out. He sits and Malon sits next to him with her own breakfast. They eat in silence for a minute till Malon breaks the silence.

"So, what happened last night, was that for real?" She asks nervously.

"Well, I thought it was real." Link said turning to look at Malon, who gave him a smile.

"Good. It's just been a while since I had a boyfriend. That didn't exactly turn out too great." She said looking away.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I've never had a girlfriend before. Well I've had girl friends, but no real girlfriend. If that makes sense." Link said, pondering this.

"Well that just means I get to teach you somethings." Malon said with a mischievous smile. "Well, I can't teach you anything if there are chores to be done."

"Yes oh mighty teacher." Link said with sarcasm as he stood up. With a stretch he picked up the list of repairs and collected the tools he will need. It was a short list so it didn't take Link terribly long, but by the time he was done it was about noon. Far longer that he wanted. Never the less he went inside and got lunch.

"I was wondering when you would be in for lunch." Malon said when he stepped inside.

"Sorry about that, I just wanted to finish fixing the fence. But now that that is done, this list is done." Link said as he tossed the list in the waste bin. Malon walked up to him and draped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.

"Well I'm done with my chores so that wraps up all of the chores that need to be done. So, are you ready to be taught my faithful student?" Malon asked.

"Of coarse. Were do we begin?" Link asked.

"With you in the bath, you stink." Malon said pushing him away playfully. "When you are all washed up I will fix you a good lunch, then your studies will start."

"Yes ma'am." Link said and he grabbed a new shirt and pants from his room and went upstairs. He took a fairly short bath, but he did get everything washed and he was coming down the stairs drying his hair. When he pulled the towel off his head he was greeted by a smiling Malon, who draped her arms back over Link.

"Well, you smell better." Malon said, "Would you like to start your lessons or eat first?" She asked.

"I think I would like to-" Link started but got interrupted by his stomach rumbling. "Well I guess I want to eat." He said looking disappointed making Malon laugh.

"I made you a sandwich. Eat up and meet me outside under the tree." Malon said as she took her arms off Link and went out side. Link quickly scarfed down his sandwich, which was made very hard because Malon had out a lot of stuff on it, and he went outside and under the tree.

It turns out that the first lesson was just laying under the tree with Malon resting her head on Link's shoulder for the past two hours with out sleeping. Every time he dozed Malon nudged him awake saying "You need to be able to be with your girlfriend for hours on end with no sleep." Well whatever Link didn't mind it, though he did catch Malon fall asleep a couple times he didn't care. All he cared about was being next to Malon. He kissed the top of her head, making her look at him.

"What was that for?" She asked in a small voice.

"Just for being incredibly beautiful." Link said, making Malon blush a little and laugh.

"Hey now. Complements are for the next lesson. But I think I could give you a reward for working ahead." Malon said and she gave Link a long passionate kiss. "But don't think that you will get one of those for every complement." Malon said and repositioned herself so the her head was resting on Link's chest and she could hear the soft beat of his heart. With the combination of the summer heat, the light breeze, the feel of Link's rhythmic heart beat, the smell of wild flowers, and the feel of safety Malon was soon sleeping. Link stroked loose strands of hair from her face and soon he was starting fall asleep.

This sleep wasn't long live though and he awoke with Malon looking up at him, her face looked almost pained.

"Whats wrong?" Link asked.

"Nothing." Malon replied burying her face into Link's chest.

"You lying."

"No I'm not.

"Malon, every time you lie your right eyebrow twitches. Whats up?" Link asked. With a sigh Malon brought her face back up and looking into Link's light blue eyes.

"I just don't want to lose you like I lost my mother." Malon said quietly. Link knew from a story that Talon told him when he was younger that Malon lost her mom to a moblin archer. Link kissed the top of Malon's head again and stoked her hair.

"Don't worry, I will never leave your side." He said. A very huge part of Malon believed him, but an extremely small part of her knew that the call of the adventure and danger would come and call for him, just as it did with her mother. Malon unknowingly shed a tear, and Link wiped it away with his thumb. "I promise." He finished and Malon buried her face back into Link's chest.

**Please review and stay tuned till next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok, apparently I can't tell the difference between one day and nine days. This is a very short chapter, but the next one will be longer. Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 11

'Stupid sluts...' Malon thought to herself as she cut up a carrot with a lot more force than necessary. The sluts in question were the two daughters of a very rich man who was there to buy a horse. The man was looking at horses with Talon while the two girls were drooling over Link as he fixed the fence. The drooling probably wouldn't be as bad if Link had a shirt on, but nope, he was shirtless. Malon couldn't blame him though, it was the hottest day of the year.

Malon couldn't get why but when ever other girls looked at Link, Malon got irritated. Malon thought she wasn't the jealous type, but she never really had the opportunity to see if she was or not. It has been about a week or so since they laid under the tree, looking up at the sky. Every night they sneaked out to lay under the tree, and they haven't got caught yet. Malon's train of thoughts was interrupted by somebody walking in.

"Looks delicious," Link said as he leaned over Malon, placing one hand on her waist making her shiver, and taking a carrot piece.

"Thank you, and how is the fence coming along?" Malon asked as calm as she could.

"Finished, now lets just hope it doesn't break again," Link said grabbing a cup and filling it with water. He drank deeply.

"So have they asked to get in your pants yet?" Malon asked calmly, Link chocked on his water and spilled most of it on the floor.

"What are you talking about?" Link said with a cough, he set the cup down and proceed to shake off the water that was on his hands.

"Those two... girls," Malon said the word 'girls' like she wasn't sure that is what she should call them. "Have you not seen the way they look at you?"

"No, because I'm taken already," Link said as he wrapped his arms around Malon's waist. "Though it is kinda cute how you get jealous," he added. This rewarded Link with an elbow in the stomach.

"Get back to work," Malon said in a playful tone.

"Yes ma'am," Link replied. Link got back to his chores and to the stuff that needed to be repaired, he honestly hadn't noticed the two girl raping him with their eyes, and the fact that when they left, one of the girls gave him a slip of paper with an address on it and told him to write. Link waved goodbye and when their carriage disappeared he crumpled up the paper and threw it away.

"You know, you're one of the most confusing people I had the pleasure to know," Ingo commented at dinner. "A young man, is given the address of two attractive girls, yet he throws it away. A man will only do this for two reasons. He either is homosexual, or he is already taken." This gets a laugh out of Link.

"I already have my eye on a very pretty girl," Link said, taking another spoonful of his soup.

"Well, I know that whoever she is, she would give anything for a man like you," Talon said with a big laugh as he slapped Link on the back. "Well I must retire, good night all," Talon said and he went upstairs, Ingo followed and disappeared into his own room. After dinner was cleaned up Link went to his room, though he didn't sleep. Instead he stayed up and kept himself busy fro an hour. After an hour he left his room and went outside and to the tree, where Malon was already waiting for him. Link laid down and Malon laid down, resting her head on his chest. Link started to stroke Malon's hair, knowing that she like it. He could smell the sweet soups on her hair.

"So how long till they find out do you think?" Malon asked, looking up at Link.

"I'm not sure, but I think that doing this is started to effect my sleep schedule. Not saying that I want to stop or anything," Link said, Malon leaned up and their lips met. The kiss quickly grew more passionate, so passionate that neither Link nor Malon heard the foot steps till it was too late.

"Like I said, either homosexual or already take," Ingo said with a small chuckle.

**Please review, and hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner than this one.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ok so I'm sorry I haven't made a chapter a while, comic con has kept be very occupied, from making my outfit to getting a ride. Well that and school. Well I have an eight day spring break, so I will get some more chapters out. Please review and enjoy.**

Chapter 12

"Ingo!" they both yelled as the flew apart.

"I- i-t not what it looks lik-" Link started but was cut off when Ingo held up his hand. He had a smile on his face and started to laugh.

"It's ok, I won't tell Talon," he said still laughing a little.

"You won't?" Malon asked.

"No, I was in your shoes once," Ingo said looking at Link. "I fell in love with a ranchers daughter, it didn't end well and I ended up having to flee the country. I doubt that you would have to do the same, Link. If you want to keep it from Talon, I'm not going to tell, however he will find out. Sooner or later," Ingo turned to walk back to the house, though before he entered the house he turned to Link and Malon, both still on the ground, "Do try to get some sleep, if it helps take this to one of your bedrooms. I will warn you if Talon gets up," he said with a wink before entering the house. Link and Malon both looked at each other.

"Well I guess that was lucky," Link commented, standing up.

"Yeah, no kidding," Malon said as she took Link's outstretched hand and he pulled her to her feet. "Um, I'm sorry but I think I'll go to bed now."

"Um yeah me too," Link said as they both walked to the house. Inside they parted ways, Malon headed up the stairs while Link went to his small bedroom. He undressed and crawled into bed, he closed his eyes and the last thing he thought before slipping into the world of fantasy was how comforting it felt to have at least somebody else know about him and Malon.

* * *

Link woke up more rested that he had in days. He stretched and pulled on his pants, he grabbed a shirt, new pants and his tooth brush and left his room. He slowly made his way up the stairs and into the bathroom, where Ingo came out of. Ingo grunted and gave a small nod as he passed Link, his usual greeting at this time of day. Link closed and locked the door behind him and undressed. He washed up and after his very quick bath he started to brush his teeth when there was a knock on the door. He unlocked it and opened it to find Malon looking almost annoyed, her arms crossed and her foot tapped at the ground. Link spit the foamy toothpaste into the sink and took a swig of water, swished it around his mouth before spitting it into the sink as well. He gathered his dirty cloths and left the bathroom. He heard the bathroom door lock as he made his way to the stairs, he descended the stairs and stopped by his room to throw his dirty cloths into his hamper, before making his way to the kitchen where he started to pull pans and obtain eggs. After a few minutes Ingo came down from his room and Link set a plate of eggs in front of him along with a tall glass of milk. Malon came next and he set the same in front of her. Link did the same when Talon sat down, he then took his own plate and ate along with the others.

Ingo was the first to get done eating and he disappeared outside. Talon turned to both Link and Malon.

"Ingo and I will be delivering the milk this time, we will be gone for about two day because we have some new customers that are farther out. In a town called Clornda, so will you two be able to keep an eye out for the ranch while we are gone?" he asked with a serious tone. Both Link and Malon nodded. "Great!" he said with a big laugh, "I knew I could count on you two!" with that he finished his breakfast and headed outside. Link stood and took the plates to the sink and started to wash them. When Malon was done she gave her plate to Link and he washed it also.

"So, two days all alone," Link commented as he dried his hands on a towel.

"Yup, two days of chores and no Ingo or father," Malon said with a mischievous smile.

"Two days of just you and me," Link said as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Malon, giving her a quick kiss.

"This feels wrong."

"Oh quit your whining, your not even the one looking at them."

"Stalking Link and Malon is not right, James," said Purple as she flew around James' head. It was around mid-day and James and Purple have been sitting atop the very large tower that Talon and them used for storage. James was looking through a small telescope at Link and Malon, who were both sitting under the tree, wrapped in each others arms.

"I prefer the phrase 'Watching from afar', now hush," James said as he went back to looking at the couple under the tree.

"What are you looking for?" Purple asked irritated.

"I'm just watching out for them, we can't have them getting attacked like with the Wolfos again."

"I don't know, I'm starting to think this is a weird fetish of some sorts," Purple said as she rested on James' head. James sighed deeply.

"If this was a fetish, you would have known long ago."

"Are you sure we won't be spotted up here?"

"They both have been in and out of this tower countless times, they haven't spotted me yet so I highly doubt that they will spot me now, when they are focused in each other." Purple was quiet for sometime till she spoke again.

"You worry me sometimes."

"Yeah? Well I worry myself all of the time," James said as he looked through the telescope again. He would have continued if Link and Malon started to head inside. "Come on," James said as he jumped down, he hit the ground in a crouch and started to walk before being swallowed by a pool of darkness.

**I thank you for reading, please review and stay tuned.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I AM NOT DEAD! I'm sure at least one of you thought so. Well the problems haven't been completely solved, but I should have enough time to at least put out a chapter once a week or so. So without further a due, please review, and enjoy. **

Chapter 13

"So why don't you use this cellar?" Link asked as he slowly stepped down the rickety wooden stairs. The cellar in question was next to the storage tower, underground. Link and Malon were given the task of cleaning it out as it needed to be done. Well, Link was given the job, Malon was just going to stand behind him and cheer him on, as there will probably be some monster of some form.

"Well in the War this ranch was used as a fort, and the fence was put up and this cellar was made to hold prisoners. We heard rumors that a few died in here, and well..." Malon said but didn't finish. She didn't need too. Link has seen his share of dead bodies. Link had a torch in his right hand and a dagger in his left, he didn't think he needed his sword. They reached the door at the bottom of the steps, and Malon unlocked it with a set of old keys. Link put one hand on the door and looked at Malon.

"Ready?" he asked to which Malon nodded her head. Link slowly pushed the door wide open.

Link held out the torch so the light could go as far as it could. There wasn't much. Three doors at one end and a wooden desk in the middle. The giant cobwebs on the desk and walls is what worried Link.

"What's with the giant cobwebs everywhere?" Malon asked, looking around.

"Giant Skulltulas," Link said inspecting a bunch of webbing on one of the walls. He touched the torch to the webbing and the web instantly caught. The fire traveled up the web and ignited the ceiling. Malon instinctively ducked but Link stood stock still, his eyes never leaving the ceiling. A flaming mass fell to the ground and Link quickly threw his knife at it. There was a final screech and the mass fell still.

"What is that?" Malon asked, looking at it with a mix of puzzlement and fear.

"Giant Skulltula," Link said, he swept the torch up to the ceiling and saw that there was nothing up there. He made his way to the desk in the middle of the room and tore off the webbing. "Here hold this," he said as he gave the torch to Malon. There was were two drawers, one on each side of the desk. The right one held nothing but rotten fruit and cobwebs. The second one was locked. Link tugged a few times, but it would not budge. He stood up, placed one hand on the top of the desk and gripped the handle in his other hand, and pulled very hard. The handle broke off, and the drawer was still shut firmly. Malon couldn't help but giggle. Slightly peeved Link walked around the desk so he was in front of it and pulled his foot back. He kicked the desk so hard the drawer flew out.

"HA!" Link laughed triumphantly. He walked back around and inspected the contents. There were huge stacks of papers, bound by leather straps.

"What are those?" Malon asked, looking over Link's shoulder.

"Not sure, they are written in military code," Link said as he inspected a paper.

"Oh, I wish I could read one of them," Malon said with a hint of sadness in her words.

"How badly do you want to read them?" Link asked looking up at Malon.

"I don't know, why do you know somebody who can translate these?" Malon asked.

"No."

"Oh."

"But I can."

"Really?" Malon asked.

"Yeah, but it can take a while, and we still need to find out what's behind those three doors," Link said standing up. He took the torch back and made his way to the first door. It was locked, but also made of wood so with a well placed kick it flew open. Empty. Link moved onto the next door. With another well placed kick the door resulted in the same thing as the first door. Nothing. The last door was made from metal and it was locked also. Link lined himself up with the door and kicked once. There was a loud bang, but the door didn't budge. He kicked it again and this time it moved a little. Link took a deep breath and put all of his power in his third kick. The door flew open and banged on the wall it was hinged too, disturbing a cloud of dust.

"I wonder what-cough-in there," Malon said as she stuck her head in. She immediately jerked it back out and looked quite sick, she had to bend over and take deep breaths. Link rubbed her back and tried to comfort her. He didn't need to look in the cell for him to know that she saw a skeleton, still attached to the wall in cuffs, and was in ragged and torn cloths. Malon started to shake and Link took this as it being time to get her out of the cellar. He grabbed a small bundle of the papers, it would take multiple trips to get them all, as he walked past.

~A short walk later~

Back in the house Link sat Malon at the table and gave her some milk, he also heated up some of last night's soup. Malon didn't want anything, but Link knew better.

"Come on, you need to eat. It will help," Link pleaded, pushing the bowl towards her.

"I said I'm not hungry," Malon said pushing the bowl away with a little more force than necessary, a little of the soup sloshing out of the bowl. "Dammit," she muttered under her breath. She was about to get up and clean the spill but Link was already there with a towel.

"Look, I know how it feels to see a skeleton for the first time," Link started as he cleaned the spill. "It's tough, and you need to take your mind off of it, so you need to eat. Trust me, it will help," Link pushed the bowl back to Malon once more. This time Malon didn't push it away. She looked at it hesitantly the picked up her spoon and spooned some in her mouth. She ate a few more spoon fulls till she put her spoon down.

"How do you deal with it?" Malon asked. Link was waiting for this question. "How do you stay calm? How does this stuff not bother you?"

"To tell you the truth, this stuff does bother me. Very much so. I am able to stay calm, because I know there are bigger things that need to be done, and I can't let one or a thousand dead bodies make me have second thoughts, or freeze up. It also helps if you have lived in constant fear for the past five years. And I suppose it helps if you have to cut the dead bodies down, because they didn't stay dead," Link explained his tone growing more and more grimmer. He walked around the table and wrapped Malon in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Go get some sleep, I will wake you when it is time for dinner. OK?"

Malon looked up at Link and nodded. She made her way to her room and laid down, she didn't think she could get some sleep, but she did. Back downstairs Link finished Malon's half eaten soup, not letting it go to waste, and sat down with a pencil, paper, and the small stack of coded papers. He unfolded his reading glasses and set to work.

**Please review and stay tuned, hopefully the next chapter will be out soon.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, something popped up over memorial weekend, when this chapter was suppose to be published. I'm not sure if I will be able to update at a regular time, but I will try to update as fast as I can. As always, please review, and enjoy!**

Chapter 14

Malon found herself walking through the tall grass of Hyrule Field, Link by her side pointing out things of interest. It was a good dream and she tried to hold onto it for as long as she could, but she found the dream ending all too soon and she found herself waking up. Though waking up wasn't so bad as she woke up to Link with a smile on his face. Even though it was a nice wake up she still put a little pout on her face.

"Good dream?" Link asked upon seeing the cute little pout.

"Yes," Malon replied as she rested her head back on her pillow, "Are those glasses?"

"Reading glasses, yes," Link took the glasses off and put them in his pocket, "anyway, dinner's ready."

Malon got up and followed Link down the stairs, the table already had two plates filled with meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas, on each with a tall glass of milk each. Malon sat down at one of the plates and looked at the delicious looking food. "This looks great, Link."

"Thanks, I hope you don't mind but I was starting to get tired of soup for dinner," Link said as he dug into his plate.

"Mmm," Malon hummed as she took a bite of the meatloaf. As she chewed a very large stack of old and new papers on the table caught her eye. "Are those the encoded papers?"

"Yeah, after I decoded the first set I went and got the rest," Link said as he reached over and handed a stack of the new paper to Malon. "It took a while but once I got the code down, the rest was easy."

Malon looked though the paper and it had names and number next to them. "What are these?" she asked as she shuffled through them.

"Prisoner forms," Link replied.

"Oh, what are you going to do with them?" she asked.

"By law I have to give them to the princess."

"Oh."

"But the law doesn't say when I have to give them to the princess."

"Is there anything we can learn from them?"

"No, all of the people who are on these have passes away," Link says as he drinks from his glass of milk.

"What a shame," Malon set the papers down and picked up her fork once again.

After dinner, Link excused himself to the bathroom to take a shower and Malon took the papers to the living room table, sat down on the couch, and looked through them. She was looking through the coded papers and started to file through them, each paper had a hand drawn portrait on it. A lot of the portraits were pretty scary, some missing an eye, a few missing half a nose, a lot of them missing a few teeth. She looked through them till she found two stuck together. _Missed one Link..._Malon though to herself as she carefully pulled them apart. She placed the already decoded paper aside and looked at the new found paper. The portrait displayed a young man, he looked different from all of the other portraits, he had all of his teeth, he had medium length hair that fell over one eye, he had no visible markings on him at all. One of the most off putting things about him was that he was smiling, like he was genuinely happy.

Malon got a very bad case of deja vu, but she couldn't place where she had seen this man. She stood up and started to pace with the page in hand, trying to think were she had seen this man. It wasn't in any photo albums, she knew this for sure. She was still pacing when Link came back from his bath.

"Hey," Link said, snapping Malon out of her thoughts, "are you alright?"

"Who is this?" Malon asked showing the page to Link, who took it with confusion.

"Where did you get this?" Link asked.

"It was stuck to another page," Malon explained. Link went past her and picked up a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, and started on decoding. It took him about ten minutes, but he finally had a name.

"It's James," Link said with both confusion and worry.

"What do you mean it's James?" Malon asked, Link was about to answer her but the door to the house opened and Talon walked through. "Father?" Malon asked in utter confusion, he wasn't to be back till tomorrow.

"Hello there darlin', we had a little trouble with bandits, took all of the milk, so we came back. Ingo is puttin' up the horses now," Talon explained as he made his way to the icebox. He pulled out some milk and poured himself a cup. Link set about cleaning up the papers while Malon set about fixing him a plate of dinner. He thanked her for the plate and started to eat. He didn't get through half of his plate when the door flew open once more. This time James strolled through the door. Both Link and Malon couldn't do anything but look in shock, it was Talon who reacted first.

"Can I help you?" Talon asked as he rose.

"Yes you can," James said with a wicked smile on his face, quick as lightning, he drew his sword off his back, and through Talon with it, lifting him into the air as Talon's body slide down the blade.

**Please review and stay tuned till next time.**


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